Team news: Carolina Panthers | Page 51

Already a special teams leader, Vikings WR Adam Thielen has been a steady presence in the Vikings’ three-man receiver sets this summer.

Thielen, 25, has moved ahead of Jarius Wright on the Vikings’ unofficial depth chart. Wright, of course, has missed the first two preseason games because of a leg injury. But Thielen also is showing more versatility. Thielen is buried down our WR list but could be a name to keep in mind if he keeps his spot on the depth chart.

There is no telling how far along — or how rich — Terrelle Pryor might be today had he given up the dream of being a quarterback and converted to wide receiver earlier in his career.

Hue Jackson, the Browns’ head coach, knew receiver was the better position for the 6-foot-4 former Buckeye. And Jackson should know, because this is the third team on which Pryor has played for him.

Jackson was the head coach in Oakland when the Raiders took Pryor in the supplemental draft in 2011. He was the Bengals’ offensive coordinator in 2015 when Pryor spent about six weeks trying to latch on as a backup to Andy Dalton. The Bengals released them after their minicamp last year.

The Browns claimed Pryor on waivers on June 22, 2015, after their offseason program was completed. He was impossibly behind when training camp began and early on he pulled a hamstring. He made the 53-man roster, was cut on Sept. 10 and then re-signed by the Browns Dec. 2. A year later, Pryor is playing like a starter. The thought of Pryor and Josh Gordon spread wide (when Gordon returns from his four-game suspension), with Corey Coleman in the slot, could give the Browns weapons they haven’t had on offense since the days of Kellen Winslow and Braylon Edwards in 2007, the story said.

By all accounts, Vikings quarterback Teddy Bridgewater has been impressive in workouts the past couple of months. And one reason, perhaps, is the “Teddy Two Gloves Passing Academy.”

That’s what Bridgewater’s teammates are calling their week together in April, when he brought in his top pass-catchers for workouts in Florida. In attendance were Vikings receivers Stefon Diggs, Jarius Wright, Charles Johnson, Cordarrelle Patterson and Adam Thielen, and tight ends Kyle Rudolph and MyCole Pruitt.

Coach Mike Zimmer said Bridgewater has shown plenty of improvement this spring, especially throwing the deep ball.

Zimmer says Bridgewater is winging it.

“I think we’re just focused on it a little more,” Zimmer said. “There was a play last week that kind of showed me the progression. … (Bridgewater) saw the safety bite a little bit and just hung it right down the middle of the field about 55 yards and a perfect strike. So those are the kind of things I see (that) two years ago or even early last year, I don’t think he would have done. … He just looks more comfortable and confident.”

Bridgewater played 16 games and finished #23 in QB scoring in his second season. If he has truly added a consistent deep ball to his arsenal, it will drastically improve his fantasy outlook.

Andy Dalton is back to zipping the ball. He’s got no restrictions with his throwing thumb; he’s got one visit under his belt to passing specialist Dr. Tom House last month, and after watching two of his most established targets leave via free agency he got one back with a Super Bowl ring and knows Pro Bowlers A.J. Green and Tyler Eifert are already here.

“It would be tougher if it was my first or second year, but this is year six,” Dalton says Monday from Dallas of his revamped receiving corps. “It’s easier for me now than early on in my career. That is going to be fun. We’ve got these guys from the start; we’ve got to get them exactly where we want them to be.

The two guys who lockered next to him and meant so much to the passing game won’t be here two weeks from Monday when the Bengals gather for offseason workouts. Wide receiver Marvin Jones turned down at least the same $40 million to go to Detroit and Mohamed Sanu got No. 2 money in Atlanta when a No. 4 role loomed in Cincinnati.

This past season Jones and Sanu represented 28 percent of Dalton’s yards and 16 percent of his touchdowns, the story said. In the wake of their losses the Bengals signed Patriots wide receiver Brandon LaFell who will move into the number-two slot opposite of Green.